Don't forget dumpster costs. A 20yd for me recently was over $500
The Home Renovation Thread
Yeah i guess it depends on stuff like that. The guy i hired had his own truck and trailer to put everything in and he would drop it off at the dump at the end of the day.
we knew buying our new house that it needed some tlc and the first project just begun. we had to take out a landing and put in some new steps. had a professional put the steps in but now we need to patch the holes from the landing, take the carpet off of the remaining steps and then stain all the steps.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2020
- Messages
- 9,948
- Reaction score
- 16,285
- Handicap
- 12.9
I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Our contractor implied doing the floor alone would probably save us close to $1k since it’s tile and the grout underneath seemed to be pretty thick.
I admire all of you, who can DIY. I tried it, just do not have the knowledge or time. But I knew what I wanted and worked with an experienced commercial turned home contractor to gut the interior and remake the exterior - foundation repair, windows, sidewalks, redesigned chimney. The wide sidewalk was my suggestion after seeing a friend do something similar.
To offer an idea how windows, door and chimney redo can modernize a home, This is a 1978 era home exterior update. The nonfunctional shutters in the windows of the original construction were easily removed and the windows widened as no brick was behind them.
1978 ... from this,,,
To 2023 ... Need to put in front landscaping after winter. They were installing front windows at the time of this picture.
It's an empty nester home -- window on the left are for the office and then the second bedroom. The office also has a hidden bed in a cabinet. The second bedroom has a hallway and is private. The hallway only leads to the guest bedroom and its bath.
I knew the wide sidewalks with a great door would make a dramatic difference. The original door was just solid fiberglass with no window frames and a frosted sidelight. Doors were difficult to find in late 2022-23 - I had quotes for $6k for a front door and said "no way." I kept on looking and found a local business that built wooden doors with the a design that we were planning with a glass sidelight (around $1k). Here is a pic before staining the door and sidelight as the carpenter was installing it.
To offer an idea how windows, door and chimney redo can modernize a home, This is a 1978 era home exterior update. The nonfunctional shutters in the windows of the original construction were easily removed and the windows widened as no brick was behind them.
1978 ... from this,,,
To 2023 ... Need to put in front landscaping after winter. They were installing front windows at the time of this picture.
It's an empty nester home -- window on the left are for the office and then the second bedroom. The office also has a hidden bed in a cabinet. The second bedroom has a hallway and is private. The hallway only leads to the guest bedroom and its bath.
I knew the wide sidewalks with a great door would make a dramatic difference. The original door was just solid fiberglass with no window frames and a frosted sidelight. Doors were difficult to find in late 2022-23 - I had quotes for $6k for a front door and said "no way." I kept on looking and found a local business that built wooden doors with the a design that we were planning with a glass sidelight (around $1k). Here is a pic before staining the door and sidelight as the carpenter was installing it.
Last edited:
That's definitely the cheapest way to do it. We don't have a town dump or I would have done the same
You’ll bypass the ballast all together and take the 120v to the tombstones on the fixture.
I don't wanna bypass the ballasts and remove the tombstones. The tubes I'm looking at in Lowe's say they're direct plug in compatible with ballasts and no ballasts.
No tombstone removal required it’s hot and neutral tied to each end.
What's another $25k? 
My wife wants to put me in an early grave.
(The one door is open for touch-up paint to dry)
Next up, refinishing the floors. Gonna go with a darker, jacobean type of stain. Because my heart can handle so much more of this crap.
My wife wants to put me in an early grave.(The one door is open for touch-up paint to dry)
Next up, refinishing the floors. Gonna go with a darker, jacobean type of stain. Because my heart can handle so much more of this crap.
That is freakin gorgeous manWhat's another $25k?
(The one door is open for touch-up paint to dry)
Next up, refinishing the floors. Gonna go with a darker, jacobean type of stain. Because my heart can handle so much more of this crap.
What's another $25k?
(The one door is open for touch-up paint to dry)
Next up, refinishing the floors. Gonna go with a darker, jacobean type of stain. Because my heart can handle so much more of this crap.
Great! Darker floor? Yes.
Thanks so much! She strayed from our former agreement, so I'm not 100% satisfied. I (and I thought, "we") wanted a slightly lighter gray and light grout. She made the changes when I was out playing golf, LOL... She's having some remorse now but that's par for the course with the Mrs in straying from a predetermined design.
One other addition that we're gonna make is replace the glass shelving within the two corner see-through cabinets with wood that matches the island and accent piece above the stove. I think it'll better tie things together.
Thanks, bud! Darker floors were always the endgame. We knew that the stain we chose for the island was (coincidentally) close to the current color of the floors. Matching them was never the goal.
Darker floors will make the wooden pieces pop and create a greater contrast within the room as a whole.
Exactly!
Matching is very difficult. I also went with darker floors to get the rest of the room to pop.
Post pics when finished!
Finally passed inspection to poor footer. Find out results of flood plane inspection today. Spoke to surveyor during his inspection/survey for that and worst case we have to put flood vents in new part of house, but ultimately it's up to the head county inspector. Fingers crossed, but demo inside the house kicks off tomorrow.
We have the green light! No extras is needed due to being on the flood plane. Footer is supposed to be poured today, but wife says it's pouring at home... BUT inside demo starts today either way. Pretty excited.
Congrats on that
Thanks. Everything should start to feel real now that we have the full greenlight and demo is happening this week.
Yeah there's definitely a certain amount of "real" once you start ripping drywall off the framing haha
Inside demo will be complete tomorrow and footer is poured. We are off to a fast start!
Floor is going to look great when it's refinished!
I absolutely love your kitchen! Great job! We decided to start with flooring. I looked through the Fifty Floor reviews (we hired those constructors several months ago) but I still can't decide whether to choose vinyl or tile for the kitchen. Both materials are supposed to be long-lasting and easy to clean.What's another $25k?
(The one door is open for touch-up paint to dry)
Next up, refinishing the floors. Gonna go with a darker, jacobean type of stain. Because my heart can handle so much more of this crap.
Last edited:
Thanks so much!